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Tattoo designs - D >> Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead Tattoo Meanings - The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos or All Souls' Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern holiday to indigenous observances dating back thousands of years, and to an Aztec festival dedicated to a goddess called Mictecacihuatl.

Due to its time being close to Halloween, The "Day of the Dead" is commonly thought to be similar to Halloween, although the two holidays actually have little in common. The "Day of the Dead" is a time of celebration, where partying is very common, although this is not very well understood in the U.S. because they celebrate Halloween as a "scary" holiday, where people will put up scary decorations and have children knock on doors for candy. It can also be the same or vice-versa.

People go to cemeteries to communicate with the souls of the departed, and build private altars, containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.

For the Dia de los Muertos celebration, many people will get tattooed with name of a loved one no longer present. The memorial tattoo might go so far as a portrait of the deceased-but likely in the form of a skeleton. Sounds spooky to a non-believer, but it helps to accept that they're no longer in the flesh. The skeletons are brightly dressed and are usually depicted dancing or playing a guitar. Their spirit lives on! And as more people 'get it', these Day of the Dead symbols find their way onto more living bodies as tattoos.

Day of the Dead motifs have their own color code-pink for joy-red for blood, life, and sacrifice-purple/indigo for grief and mourning-white for home and purity of spirit-and orange for the dawn of a new day. Latinos would probably stick to the folk art style, but the dead aren't going to object to a cartoon-style skeleton, or the Sailor Jerry look.

Get inspired by some great images and photos in our Day of the Dead Inspiration Gallery

See also: Latino Tattoo Index, Religious Tattoo Index, Christian Tattoos, Latino Hispanic Tattoos

Choose your own great classic Day of the Dead tattoo designs at Tattoo-Art.com and buy the perfect tattoo design for yourself.

Tattoo designs - D >> Day of the Dead

Tattoo Symbol Index - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z